Lions’ veteran defender not ‘Banks-ing’ on another season in B.C.

Mike Beamish, Vancouver Sun11.13.2013

B.C. Lions defensive back Korey Banks leaves the field after he and his team are defeated by the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the Western semifinal in Regina, Sask., on Sunday, November 10, 2013. The Riders defeat the Lions 29-25.

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METRO VANCOUVER — When asked to pick their dream job, American men overwhelmingly favour “pro athlete” over entrepreneur, movie star or president.

But after 11 years of playing professional football, Korey Banks is still uncomfortable having his name paired with the word “jock.” He finds it limiting, even demeaning.

“I’m more than that,” the B.C. Lions’ nickelback said, prior to his departure for Atlanta and a reunion with his wife, kids and infant son. “I really don’t need football. I’m into a lot of other things besides sports.”

After two years in the training camps and practice rosters of the Washington Redskins and Miami Dolphins, Banks said he considered a career in law (his mom is a paralegal) or law enforcement but instead took his gift for elocution and argument to the Canadian Football League.

Five times a CFL all-star (once in Ottawa, four times in B.C.), Banks failed to achieve division all-star status for only the first time in his 10-year CFL career in 2013.

At 34, he realizes his remaining time as a pro athlete is short, but he wants to coax another season from the CFL before calling it quits.

“One more, then I’ll retire,” he said.

He may not get a chance to finish out with the Lions, however, well aware that GM Wally Buono is always looking for telltale signs of regression in superannuated ballplayers, no matter how sterling their resumes.

“I love being here, but it really don’t matter,” Banks said. “If you cut me, at the end of the day I can move on, happy. I don’t know what’s going to happen. But I’m not worried about me. I’ll be alright.”

Banks went through the Lions’ locker room Sunday, embracing his teammates after their 29-25 defeat to the Saskatchewan Roughriders in the West Division semifinal, as if he knew it was already time to say his farewells.

He played with a broken baby toe, which was painful, but he sloughed it off as being “no big deal.” Banks proved that by chasing down Kory Sheets at the end of a 61-yard screen pass, showing the same hustle and “want to,” as the football coaches say, of an eager rookie.

In Atlanta, Banks will be reunited with his four kids and wife,Tartesia, who gave birth to the latest addition — Kody Logan Banks — on Sept. 29, the day the Lions played the Blue Bombers in Winnipeg. Banks watched his son’s birth through videotelephony on Face Time, then put on his football gear. Hours later, he was awarded the defensive game ball. Kody, Banks admitted, helped to fill a void in the couple’s heart after they lost another child, three-year-old Khamari Banks, to cancer three years ago.

Back home, Banks has a number of money-making interests, including a freight brokerage business, that help pay the bills. But he also intends to pursue a master’s degree in leadership because he wants to be a mentor to other kids beside his own.

“Too many black kids grow up without a father figure in their lives,” he said. “I think it’s important. I want to be able to help more kids through community programs or coaching.”

Banks insists there are many things in life more important than football, and he doesn’t want to be defined as just a football player. If 2013 is it for him, if he no longer has a chance to revel in the grandeur, the electricity of the crowds, the soul of the competition, his response will be: Screw it.

Then again, when it comes to his amped-up enthusiasm for football, Banks has few peers.

Can he simply walk away, if the game turns its back on him, and go without regret, without one more championship ring?

“I want to win another championship with guys like Korey,” said halfback Ryan Phillips. “I don’t know if I’ll have the opportunity. It just sucks that we didn’t go ahead and prevail like we should have. We’re a veteran group. It was inexcusable for us to be in the position to win that (playoff) game and not come through.”

“We’re going to miss each other,” Banks agreed. “But, as far as getting signed again, I really don’t give a damn. I never do. That’s the reality of it. I’ll just move on.”

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Lions’ veteran defender not ‘Banks-ing’ on another season in B.C.

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